Edea Crownsworth
Edea Crownsworth (イデア・クラウンズワースエッディー Edea Crownsworth) is the true main antagonist of Kingslayer: He Who Brings Order Through Chaos. The 3rd Brunhilde of the Mondo Grosso and one of the original IS pilots, she believes in creating social progress by instigating wars to eliminate the weak and bring order through the Infinite Stratos. Appearance Edea wears a purple skin-tight dress with a plunging neckline and feathers around the collar and a headpiece adorned with jewels. Her hands are claw-like, bearing sharp nails that could cut even metal itself. Before revealing her face, Edea wears a red beak-like mask to conceal her identity. Unknown to most, Edea carries with her a medicinal kit for her severe injuries that Chifuyu inflicted upon her years before the story. In a flashback, when Edea rescued Madoka, she wore a simple navy blue dress with blue arm sleeves. Her hair back then was long, reaching to her hips. She still maintains this appearance in public places to blend in with the crowd but reverts to her real form in the shadows. When imprisoned, Edea is shown in a white straitjacket along with her red mask, but also strapped to a life support chair that keeps her alive. Personality Edea was once seen as benign and gentle to the public. She devoted her life to helping others, focusing upon the young IS pilots that she cares for. She was beloved by all as many young girls looked up to her as an aspiring figure. Many of them were saddened upon the news of her mysterious disappearance after the 3rd Mondo Grosso. All of that however was just a ruse for her inner nature. In truth, Edea is a megalomaniac and an expedient psychopath. While Edea did use her power and influence to help others in a caring manner, it was done with ulterior motives and she asked for their aid in exchange for her help, provided they were willing to obey. Those who resisted her offer blatantly were purged but for those that hesitated, she gave them time to consider. Aware of the fear between ordinary civilians and IS pilots, along with the matriarchal dominance over men, Edea encourages it to acquire more power and supporters. Edea committed all these crimes, claiming she was bringing order to the world. She has the belief that without power, one cannot assert ideals, and she does not believe in justice or morality, claiming that they do not conform to reality. Her presence is enough to make everyone paralyze in fear of her intimidating aura. Perhaps due to her confidence and immense power, she has a calm and condescending demeanor, confident even when thwarted. Edea prefers to use forceful actions rather than emotional words. Edea believes that her protégé, Madoka Orimura, has the ideal conditions to succeed her and continue her legacy. Still, Edea is aware of Madoka's immaturity and tries to teach her how to grow as a villain, although, unlike Chifuyu Orimura, Edea's methods of teaching are indirect. She speaks kindly towards Madoka and gives her encouragement when she fails. Despite her power and authority, Edea is respectful with her subordinates and associates higher than her, being generally polite rather than patronizing. Although, this can be construed as a means to maintain her true nature. Relationships Madoka Orimura: Edea was the one who found a young Madoka and saved her from death in the alleyway. Ever since then, Madoka looked up to Edea as a mother figure. Edea is deeply invested in Madoka's growth and is very committed to her role as Madoka's teacher and giving her the opportunity to grow and think for herself. She was satisfied when Madoka finally developed a plan to achieve a goal on her own against her family. When Madoka failed in the end, Edea simply told her that she can try again as many times as she wants to and that Edea will always be there to help her as it is all for Madoka's sake. Although well aware of her own immaturity, she works to mold her into the successor she dreams of her being. It does appear that Edea truly cares for Madoka, having a similar relationship like Chifuyu has with her little brother Ichika, as she told her that everything is for her sake and calls her her student. Instead of punishing Madoka like any archetypal villain would do to their apprentice for their failure, Edea instead encourages Madoka to simply start over as many times as she needed to and that she will always provide her with help. After Madoka was severely injured and left for dead by Ichika in her last encounter, Edea rushed to her help and rushed her back to base, using a rejuvenating tank to heal her wounds as her IS underwent repairs. Edea stayed by Madoka's side, watching her student every day recover whilst noting her growing anger and hate. Although Edea groomed Madoka with the intention to demoralize Chifuyu and even scorn the lineage of the Orimura bloodline, it is evident that she grew to care for her adoptive daughter and is the only person to whom she has shown genuine love to, even if greatly motivated by evil. Even Squall, Madoka's superior, states that the only time the Dark Lady is emotional is around Madoka, though only in private. Chifuyu Orimura: Edea detests Chifuyu just as much as the latter does to the former. Edea hates the first Brunhilde for who she is: a White Knight who believes she must defend the weak and unworthy in terms of the IS. It is because of this that she and Chifuyu once fought a match that was off the record in a remote location far from the eyes of even Tabane, yet ended with both Brunhildes critically injured. Chifuyu had gained a hole in her stomach while Edea had a sword go through her chest, directly through her heart. Edea states to Chifuyu that she needs a successor to spread her ideals to contrast Chifuyu's, hence Madoka. She intends to use Madoka to end the Orimura bloodline, calling it a curse on society and that Ichika will be the first one to fall. Chifuyu in turn despises Edea, realizing that she was the one who had taken Madoka in to be her ill-fated successor and the one who orchestrated Ichika's kidnapping leading to Chifuyu's forfeit of the second Mondo Grosso. She also discovered that Edea was behind the Excalibur Incident, manipulating Tabane far enough to let Ichika be killed only to be resurrected later. She had also failed to recognize that her most hated rival was the winner of the 3rd Mondo Grosso under the guise of a false name. Chifuyu's encounter with Edea caused her to realize the danger of who she was and the atrocities she had committed so long ago and still does to this day. During their reunion in Japan 5 years later, Edea confesses that she still has nightmares and mental trauma from their first encounter from when she saw the look on Chifuyu's face after granting her a severe injury via a torn hole in her stomach. Chifuyu in turn seems to not only be the first to nearly defeat Edea, but also the first to ever severely scar her mentally. Edea enjoys belittling and ridiculing Chifuyu, even relishing in breaking Chifuyu's spirit in any way possible whether it be in regards to her family, her close friends, or even her students. She also enjoys watching Chifuyu become riled up by belittling Tabane's selfishness or Ichika's near death experience by the satellite IS Excalibur. In their second battle, Edea aims to take everything from Chifuyu, her image and pride by revealing her identity as the White Knight to the public. When that failed, she decides to reveal the truth that Tabane had been dead for 10 years and that Edea cloned her to act as her puppet whose strings she pulled from the shadows. Even after being defeated for a second time and locked up in prison, Edea continues to play with and taunt Chifuyu, using any and every opportunity to strike at her rival. Despite being defeated by the latter, Edea took her loss in stride and mocked Chifuyu for not dying when she had the chance, confident that her pupil will become stronger to become the next Brunhilde. Edea is also aware of the fact that Ichika Orimura is the current bearer of the White Knight's core and criticizes Chifuyu for being a pathetic teacher. Tabane Shinonono: Just as Edea is the opposite of Chifuyu in terms of piloting the IS, she is also the opposite of Tabane in terms of IS experimentation. Tabane despised Edea's thinking in terms of experimenting with the IS, believing it to be morally wrong. While both were remorseless and self-centered in what they did, Edea had no problem using humans for experimentation on the IS, something Tabane found disgusting. Edea's role in demoralizing the Orimura siblings made Tabane look at her with scorn and hate, a rare emotion shown from the IS creator. Tabane discovered Edea had taken in the young Madoka to be her protege, realizing what she had intended to do with her in order to cripple Ichika. Tabane soon came to regard Edea as a threat and went on to confront her. A battle ensued between them but ultimately ended with Tabane's demise, a secret Edea ensured to keep hidden from everyone, especially Chifuyu and especially all of Phantom Task, Madoka included. Shortly afterwards, Edea kept Tabane's body and used her genetic template to create a clone with which Edea could use as a puppet against Chifuyu from the shadows, creating events that would, over time, break Chifuyu's spirit such as the Excalibur Incident. Ichika Orimura: Edea thinks Ichika is a pitiful boy, weak and frail, trying so hard to be a hero only to utterly fail in the end. She mocks his commitment to ideals and disparages his strength and, by her admission, declared the latter died a pitiful death at the hands of Excalibur. She sees Ichika as the link to Chifuyu's weakness and intends to make the boy suffer in front of his big sister at the hands of her twin in an effort to break her spirit. Houki Shinonono: Edea is well aware that Houki is Tabane's younger sister, yet instead of seeing her as an annoyance, she saw raw and untamed potential that had yet to be tapped in. To that end, Edea secretly commissioned and built Akatsubaki, crafted by Tabane's hands, for Houki to pilot in the hopes she can build up her power. Edea was rather amazed at how fast she had unlocked her One-Off Ability, Kenran Butō, yet now desires its power for herself to be incorporated into her Personal IS. For now, she allows Houki to keep it. Edea respects and admires Houki's determination, yet sees that, like her sister, she is stubborn in her attempts for success. Edea knows Houki is not aware of her sister's death yet does plan to tell her face to face, along with showcasing Tabane's corpse and the recording of her untimely demise. Infinite Stratos & Abilities It is unknown what IS Edea piloted back in her youth but is speculated that because she became Brunhilde, her strength was equivalent to that of Chifuyu's. Her current IS is named Dark Lady, an experimental 5.0 generation IS that she constructed to experiment her new powers by draining the One-Off Abilities off of every IS. Edea is an extremely powerful IS pilot; being the leader of Phantom Task, revered as the 3rd Brunhilde, living since the creation of the IS, and having stolen One-Off Abilities from an innumerable amount of people, Edea has immense experience and power. For combat, Edea prefers to combine many of the One-Off Abilities she has collected throughout her long life in order to maximize their power and effectiveness, often to truly catastrophic levels. In addition, due to her enormous array of abilities, she can switch between various powers in the midst of battle, making Edea unpredictable, and all the more dangerous. Since she has no qualms with killing, she doesn't hold back in fights, and will even target defenseless people, using them as a distraction to her advantage. Edea's incredible prowess and destructive nature earned her the epithet, "The Dark Lady", conveniently named after her current IS. Edea possesses a genius level of intellect, most likely due to her life experience as one of the original IS pilots. She is the true mastermind behind Phantom Task and has been pulling the strings the whole time. She also seems to possess a vast knowledge of the One-Off Abilities she's stolen, as shown when she knew about the advantages and disadvantages of her Warping, despite recently acquiring it. Using this extensive knowledge of One-Off Abilities in tandem with her own, she can combine several abilities to create devastating and catastrophic techniques, and even knows how to adjust the power of her combination attacks in order to blindside her opponents, and deceive them into believing that the Dark Lady is using her full power. It's possible that her intelligence and observation skills increased due to stealing an ability called Search (Kanzashi Sarashiki's One Off Ability that had yet to be unlocked), which allows the user to observe people's weak points, coupled with Edea's already impressive knowledge and fighting experience. After she dispatched the IS pilots that were present at factory holding Kanzashi, Edea discerned that Laura Bodewig's mastery over her IS involved experience and training; after correctly speculating that her innate power requires much refinement, Edea expressed her disinterest in taking her yet to be unlocked One-Off Ability nor her Odin's Eye. When she battled Chifuyu the second time, she calculated that it took the latter 60 seconds to travel from the National Diet Building to the destroyed IS Academy. With this calculation, Edea deduced that Chifuyu has gotten weaker in the 5 years that elapsed since their last encounter. Another terrifying aspect Edea's intelligence is her expertise in guerrilla warfare. While she was pinned down by Chifuyu, Edea mentioned Tabane and Ichika separately. She continued to taunt Chifuyu by calling Tabane a frail little girl whom Chifuyu allowed to wreak havoc across the world and Ichika a pathetic hero with ideals which he couldn’t live up to, and brought up the fact that Tabane herself had killed him with the Excalibur, resulting in a provoked Chifuyu striking Edea in anger. Afterwards, knowing that their battle was being televised, Edea decided to weaken Chifuyu so that her identity as the White Knight will be exposed, all in attempt to decrease the moral of Chifuyu's supporters, and deprive the White Knight of her self-respect. She even went as far as to reveal the real Tabane Shinonono was dead, killed by her hand 10 years ago and that the one Chfiuyu had encountered in recent years was just a doll created and controlled by Edea to distraught Chifuyu. This fact caused Chifuyu to greatly despair over the fact that Chifuyu did not know Tabane was dead the entire time. Edea elaborated on the murder as being part of the reason as to why she cloned and controlled her, all so the Dark Lady can break Chifuyu's spirit. Soon after, Chifuyu mustered the last of her power, and Edea surmised that the weakened Brunhilde had only 2 to 3 minutes left before her power expires. When Edea and Chifuyu were reaching the climax of their battle, the former came to the revelation that, while the two were exchanging blows, the White Knight no longer lingered within Chifuyu, and the latter was battling with the remaining embers of the said power; Chifuyu was struggling to maintain what little power he had left in order to regain the strength he once had. At the same time, Edea realized that Ichika Orimura is the new inheritor of the White Knight that Chifuyu had chosen. History Edea's history is revealed to have been one of the first females to pilot an IS. However, instead of seeing the IS used for sportsmanship, Edea saw it as an opportunity for power; to bring, in her view, order to a chaotic world that Tabane had created and subjugate humanity through fear, especially upon the men. When the 3rd Mondo Grosso came about, Edea, under the guise of a false name, was its winner and was awarded with the title of Brunhilde. During her travels, she founded Madoka Orimura in an alleyway and took her into her care, grooming her to be her student. She then joined Phantom Task under the pseudonym of The Dark Lady, the same name of her current IS, to begin her plans. In time, Edea had become Phantom Task's primary leader, only appearing via holographic projections to her subordinates. When Chifuyu Orimura had discovered Edea's plans of terrorizing the world with the IS through Phantom Task, she had tracked down Edea and engaged her in the White Knight. Their duel was kept in a remote location, far from the eyes of even Tabane who could not locate the White Knight at the time. The fight ended with a draw with both Brunhildes severely and mortally injured, although Chifuyu led herself to believe that Edea had died from her injuries. It wasn't until 5 years later that Chifuyu figured out that she had returned. Edea is revealed to have aligned with several countries in order to achieve her goals. The most notable is North Korea but she has also taken over control of Dunois Corporations led by Albert Dunois. She was also revealed to have created the Remnant, cyborgs composed leftover/failed children from Project Akuruka incorporated forcefully with IS technology. Quotes “No one’s come to save you, have they? You’ve had a hard life, Madoka Orimura. ‘She’ll be fine,’ they say, ‘Eventually someone will help her,’ they say. I am sure that is what everyone thought as they looked away and ignored you. The world shouldn’t be so unforgiving as to abandon a young child like yourself. You didn't do anything wrong. Don't worry. I am here for you.” -to a younger Madoka. “Naturally, you’re upset, but this was not a futile mission. We’ve learned many things. Gather your forces again and bring out the elite troops. Take all the time you need for a counterattack. I must remain hidden in the shadows which why I need you to be my face. A symbol of your own. Madoka Orimura, next time you will show the world the true meaning of fear.” -to Madoka. "Life is cruel. Why should the afterlife be any different if you fear death? I will offer a choice to the powerless. Sinners will be forgiven, debts will be repaid, and all burdens shall be lifted. I will grant you that one desire you long for most. You need only follow me." ''-A younger Edea to her followers in the early days of the IS. ''“The White Knight Chifuyu Orimura... I didn’t think she’d stop Madoka’s fight. But everything else went pretty much as expected. Now that she’s exposed to the media, those who still wish to see her captured, along with Professor Tabane, will seek out Phantom Task as a way to satisfy their urges. Squall Meusel will be put into position where she must unify many new recruits.” -Edea examining the battle. "She'll do well, even if I have to work her to the bone. It's the only way she will be able to take my place. She was born with the twisted mind needed to become my successor." -to the Supreme Leader about Madoka. "You've failed again, didn't you? But do not be discouraged. Simply begin again. Start over as many times as you need to. That's why I'm here. Everything is for you, Madoka." -to Madoka. "If Tabane wants to have a hand in something so evil that Chifuyu would greatly disapprove of, I will gladly offer my assistance in her fall from grace in any way that I can. My only regret is not being able to see Chifuyu's face twist in pain when she discovers the truth of Tabane's mistake." ''-Edea's role on the Excalibur IS. ''"Listen carefully, Squall. If for whatever reason I am gone for an extended period, you will be the only one who can protect Madoka. That said, should you ever be concerned or feel as though you need assistance, there is someone else you can rely on." ''-to Squall in a flashback about protecting Madoka and contacting her doll Tabane. ''"I'm sorry, Katana. But Kanzashi-chan's One-Off Ability that had yet to be unlocked was so useful. I just had to take it. How could I not?" ''-Edea introduces herself to Tatenashi. ''"Since my body was mostly destroyed, I haven't been able to stock up on my powers nor test my new IS in such a long time." ''-Edea reveals her IS, Dark Lady. ''"Madoka has finally started thinking rationally and making decisions by herself. I do wish that you hadn't gotten in her way." -Edea after defeating the IS pilots so easily. "Now then... shall we begin?" ''-Edea commences the invasion of the Academy. ''"I see why Germany chose you to be its representative candidate, Laura Bodewig. That blast should have annihilated the lot of you. But you were able to use your cables to pull everyone out of the way just in time while using your AIC. Quick thinking. Consider me impressed." ''-to a wounded Laura Bodewig. ''"Now I see... Your strength comes from practice and practical experience, not raw power. I don't need your One-Off Ability nor your Odin's Eye. It wouldn't pair well with Madoka's disposition." ''-after further wounding Laura. ''"So, you’ve failed once more, Madoka. But you must not be discouraged. You can try again. That’s why I brought your associates back with you. Even your twin brother. Because you judged that he was an important piece on your game board. Start over as many times as it takes. I am here to provide you with the help you need. Everything…is for your sake." -to Madoka. "Ahh, there you are." -Edea spots the White Knight. "Have you come to kill me a second time, Chifuyu Orimura?" -to Chifuyu at the start of their second duel. "You're pretty late, you know? To think from the National Diet Building to the IS Academy, it took for you a full minute to arrive here after I sent my forces. How weak you have become, Chifuyu." ''-Edea mocks Chifuyu. ''"Sounds like you have so much to do. It'll be hard...for the both of us." ''-Edea blasts Chifuyu away. ''"Dark Energy Cannon plus Springlike Limbs. Kinetic Booster times four, Strength Enhancer times three. This is a delightful combination. Perhaps I should install a few more enhancers next time." -on her Enhanced Dark Energy Cannon. "Do not worry. It will take a lot more than that to kill her." -to Ichika about Chifuyu's condition. "Get out of here immediately, Madoka. And take your brother with you. ... Squall! Open up a Groundbridge!" ''-to Madoka before using Demon Fangs on Squall to open a Groundbridge portal. ''"My warp ability is still new to me, Autumn dear. There is too much I need to learn about it. The distance it has is limited and while she can open a portal to specific coordinates, I can only transport people to and from my own location. Or with focus, to or from someone I am very familiar with. That is all. It'll be much easier for Squall to do it. ... The Groundbridge is open! Get out of here now!" ''-Edea to Autumn about Squall opening a Groundbridge before opening it up. ''"Madoka, always keep in mind that you still got so much room to grow." -to Madoka before re-engaging Chifuyu. "I don't think so... because I am here!" ''-Edea keeps Chifuyu away from helping Ichika. ''"Are you holding back against me? Trying to keep the boy from being blown away? It must be so hard for you, being the White Knight and all." ''-Edea taunting Chifuyu. ''"Alicia Jiosestaf of all people?" -Edea sees the 2nd Brunhilde's arrival. "They got us. They neatly turned the tables on us in one move." -Edea about the plan's failure before using Demon Fangs. "Madoka... you '''must' carry on the fight." ''-Edea's final words to her student. "I only came to save Madoka and destroy the Academy, but if you say you’re going to fight, then I will, too. In the past, your blade crushed one after another of my comrades, and you were extolled as the White Knight. The view you had from atop our sacrifices... It must have been a great one.” -to Chifuyu before unleashing another blast. "I won’t let you fight without reserve, though. Brunhildes have a lot of things they need to protect, don’t they?” -Edea mocking Chifuyu. "What's wrong? You seem to be very worked up about something, Chifuyu. I heard something similar to that line before... from the creator of the Infinite Stratos herself... Tabane Shinonono." ''-to Chifuyu. ''"You and Tabane have more in common than you care to think. You would've done the same to her little sister if you were in her shoes with the Excalibur." -taunting Chifuyu about Tabane and Ichika. “She was a frail little girl that you purposefully allowed to run havoc across the world, bringing chaos and destruction wherever she went. I cannot help but feel ashamed by her actions as the 3rd Brunhilde when she killed your little brother with the Excalibur. And the way he died was truly pathetic. Where do I begin to start describing it…?” -taunting Chifuyu about Ichika's near death experience by Tabane. "I'm a little conflicted... The trust in the IS that Madoka steadily chipped away at... I wonder if it's okay for me to land the decisive blow... But you know, Chifuyu, as much as you hate me, I hate you in the same way. I nearly killed your little brother, that's for sure, but you took away the things I built as well, remember? That's why I want you to die the ugliest and most gruesome death possible and have the entire world wtiness your utter demise!" ''-to Chifuyu while preparing to fire another powerful blast. ''"Not everyone is so fast, aren't they? ... I will destroy everything you have sought to protect!" ''-to Chifuyu before firing another powerful blast. ''"First to go is your self-respect and your hidden identity. Show the world who you are underneath the armor, my dear White Knight." -Edea exposes Chifuyu's identity as the White Knight for all to see. "What is this? The 1st Brunhilde was also the White Knight? What a pathetic display you've allowed yourself to show! Don't be embarrassed! That's who you are underneath, isn't it? The woman who destroyed all 2341 missiles thanks to Tabane and who changed the world! The very IS who every government has sought to hunt now with her real identity exposed for everyone to see!" ''-mocking and laughing evilly at Chifuyu's identity. ''"Wonderful. I give up. I'd forgotten how stubborn you as an Orimura can truly be. Then perhaps this will not hinder your heart at all: You see, Tabane Shinonono, your best friend and the creator of the Infinite Stratos, had already died 10 years ago!" -Edea reveals the truth to Chifuyu. "I kept thinking about what you would hate most. And so I found Tabane in her lab, killed her before she could act against me and decided that even in death, she could still be of some use. I preserved her corpse on ice in order to create a clone that would act as my puppet whose strings I would pull from the shadows. I created chances for you and the fake Tabane to meet, causing events that had left a severe scar on your psyche like the Excalibur Incident. You nearly killed her, didn't you? You held nothing but bitter resentment for her, not knowing that your real friend had already been dead for 10 years." -Edea's schemes. "Come now, Chifuyu. This is the truth. You understand, don't you? This is exactly something I would do." -Edea dispels the lies. "Oh, that's strange, Chifuyu. Where is that pride of yours now?" -Edea mockingly laughs at Chifuyu's despair as she imitates her smile. "Oh, how much fun I am having! Maybe I was able to steal a piece of your heart after all, huh?" ''-Edea delighting in Chfiuyu's shock and horror. ''"There it is. That's the last of your strength, isn't it, Chifuyu? A wounded IS pilot is a most frightening animal. Do you know that even now I sometimes dream of you charging at me with your entrails dragged across the ground? ... You have what, two to three minutes left?" -to Chifuyu while noting her power. "Hmm... those Remnant weren't particularly strong but I'm still amazed you handled them so quickly. As expected from the 2nd male IS pilot and the sole survivor of Project Akuruka." -Edea to Raiden. "If the only reason you're here is to cheer her on, I prefer you to remain silent!" -Edea before engaging Raiden and Jake Jackson. "(Scoffs) How futile! ... Let's all conform back to reality and not waste so much time on heroism, shall we?" -Edea blasts the ground and prepares the final stage. "Those blasts from my Dark Energy Cannon were only meant to wear you out, not kill you. I knew it would take a lot more than that on someone like you. With all of my abilities I have stored up in these many years combined into this attack, I will strike you down for good, White Knight!" ''-Edea prepares her final attack. ''"I wasn't certain until we traded blows tonight, Chifuyu, but now I am. The White Knight's power no longer dwells within you. What you have been attacking me with is just a lingering ghost, the embers that remain from what you've already passed on. And that fire gets weaker every time you use it. Even now, it's a feeble spark about to put itself out." -Edea notes Chifuyu's declining power. "Ichika Orimura... Your little brother now holds the White Knight's core, doesn't he? I bet he came to the battlefield without your permission. You have no control over him, do you? It sounds as though you'll die full of regret, Chifuyu. You fail today not just as a teacher but also as a sister!" ''-to Chifuyu before landing the final blow. ''"I see... The embers of the White Knight inside you are resisting. They're desperately trying to preserve your last strength so that you may fulfill your duty. BUT IT'S NOT ENOUGH!" ''-Edea presses her attack. '' "To think you are still able to resist this much... I miscalculated!" -Edea's "miscalculation." "A clever trick? How very unlike you. It's still weak, though!" ''-Edea falls for Chifuyu's trick. ''"I lost to you, Chifuyu. The struggle I put up was truly pitiful. But it is you who failed in the end. Beating me put you on a course that led you closer to your students. You missed your opportunity to vanish. You lost your chance to die. The job of any teacher is to help her student become independent. When a student relies on a master and that master disappears, the student's hatred grows, allowing her to walk the path of a true IS pilot, a true leader. Mine has comrades, and she's learned how to increase their number." -Edea's thoughts to Chifuyu about her final battle. "You'll be okay, Madoka Orimura. Take all this experience, rage, loathing, and regret and use it as you move forward. You...are now next." ''-Edea's confidence in Madoka. ''"Christmas at the Academy must be starting soon. Or has it already begun? I assumed that you would devote yourself to teaching now. And yet here you are. So why did you want to come to see me?” -Edea greets Chifuyu at Helheim. “Do you know how stifling this place is, Chifuyu? If I so much as try to scratch an itch by rubbing my body against this chair, then every gun muzzle suddenly points at me. My brainwaves are constantly being monitored, along with my vital signs. One thought about activating my IS, and I’ll likely be put down like a rabid dog. Imprisoned deep underground smothered by layers of high-level security. Not even a bit of stimulation for my mind. The world likens this place to something out of Norse mythology calling it Helheim. That’s the name of one of the Nine Realms of Norse Mythology where the dead who do no ascend to Valhalla go. Escaping would be a struggle even for me.” -Edea about her prison. “Of course you come to me with a tedious topic. Even if I told you the truth, you wouldn’t be satisfied. There are some people who will never understand each other, Brunhildes included.” -avoiding Chifuyu's questions of the former's actions. “We are the same, though you’d never admit it. Just as you long to become the White Knight, a protector of the innocent, I long to be the Dark Lady, an all-powerful demon lord. It’s that simple. I had an ideal, and the power to see it enacted. If I could live forever inside my dream, then why would I begrudge the effort to make it a reality?” -Edea's motivations “You of all people ask that? ['Laughs'] What a laugh! It’s because you took everything from me. Look at my body! I’m alive yes, but only because of tubes and machines thanks to this life support system. After you appeared, I realized that my infinite potential suddenly became finite. It’s normal to pass your work onto someone else when the end is near. Think of it as inheritance, like the estate you pass down. Or the well-sown field planted by one person and cultivated from generation to generation. I’m just trying to do what everyone else on this planet is already doing. Nothing more.” -Edea about the reason why she needed a successor. “The world was probably pretty shaken up by your retirement, so let’s hear it. How are things actually looking on the outside?” -taunting Chifuyu about her forced retirement. “Right about now, the media’s concern about your identity is mixing with their worry about Alicia as the new de facto leader. It’s making them question how much power the IS will inflict once truly unleashed. Meanwhile, those lurking in the shadows have been listening closely. They sense the growing instability caused by the vacuum you created and are compelled to act. They think this could be their chance to change how the world works and are starting to band together. I think Madoka and her group will continue to hide for the time being, in order to ensure it’s their organization that rises to the top. Everyone will naturally wish to increase their influence, so there will be some fighting among the factions. If the scenario that I composed plays out as I intended it to, then I know everything that’s going on outside these walls.” -Edea's predictions about the future. “Do you know what I love most about this? Any rise in crime and terrorism moving forward is due to you concealing your fading strength. And now you won’t be able to save nor protect anyone. You’ve been relegated to the sidelines doomed to watch the world fall apart as villains flourish because of your own arrogance. Powerless for the rest of your days and entrusting the dangers of the world to your little brother who can barely hold his own! So, tell me… how does that feel, O White Knight?” -taunting Chifuyu about her current role. “That’s all I needed. I can see it rigid on your face! You’re nothing now! You’re finished, and you really want to punch me, huh?” -responding to Chifuyu's brief surge of anger. "You said you came here to settle a few things. Is that really what you wanted to say, though?" -scoffing at Chifuyu's declaration. "Rest of my days, huh?" -Edea musing on her time in prison forever by Chifuyu. Gallery The Matron.jpg Trivia * Edea is loosely based off of a couple of villains: ** Physically, she is based off of Edea Kramer from Final Fantasy VIII, along with the first name ** Edea's personality is largely based off of the villain All For One from My Hero Academia Category:Characters